Balancing the Heart Chakra
Our new audio section has some meditations that may be enhanced by a little explanation. These are the ones based on the Figure Eight glyph, and include some meditations that are to balance the energies of the chakras or energy centers involved, and another that works with the back dimension of the heart center, called Resting Into the Heart of God. The Figure Eight symbol itself has some important spiritual meanings that I’ll cover in a later blog post, but suffice it to say that the Figure Eight describes the rhythm and flow of polar energies and qualities. I’ll start first with the polar balance of the heart center presented in the Heart Balance audio meditation.
Balance in the Chakras
Everything in creation exists in magnetic polar dualities. Balance, from this perspective, is not a static countering of one pole to another, but a dynamic flow between polarized qualities. If one pole of the pair is weaker or undeveloped, then things are out of balance. This is also true energetically within the dimensions of our chakras or energy centers. Each center consists of polar forces, and balance of these poles means the chakra itself is balanced. Even more, both poles strongly magnetized or polarized to each other is actually what “opens” the chakra involved. In other words, opens us to the energy and dimension of consciousness that chakra is part of.
Polarities of the Heart Chakra
The heart chakra contains the polarity of Inclusiveness and Discernment. The quality of Inclusiveness means that the heart chakra is able to hold that all things, all beings are of God, of Creation, no one thing more or less significant than another. All things belong. The quality of Discernment means that the heart is able also to know that each thing has its own unique nature. That it belongs does not make it identical to everything else. It is itself, unique in it’s own way. A rattlesnake, for example, is one of the Creators creations as are we. And a rattlesnake also has its own nature that you shouldn’t ignore when walking in the desert!
When we circle only in the Inclusive pole of our heart only, out of balance, we tend to see everything as being alike. Everyone belongs together, and differences get glossed over or denied. When we fall in love, for example, we fall hard into the Inclusive polarity: we don’t want to see the ways in which the beloved is not perfect, or different in some way that is problematic, or might not belong in our life. Being in-love is, as everyone knows, not a state where we have much discernment!
Similarly, if we circle only in the pole of Discernment we appreciate the uniqueness of things, but have little compassion. We may love something for their special nature, but cannot see our fundamental connectedness. Another version of “addiction to discernment” is self-righteousness, where one may sense the unique nature of their own path, but without the inclusive pole, wave the flag of their own unique nature as if they are God’s chosen one: “I know the rightness of my path, and it must be true for all.”
In balance, ones heart can know that we are all one and at the same time that everything has its own nature. It is this paradox that allows a truly open heart. If you follow the meditation you will likely find that one polarity is more developed than the other, your turn on that side of the figure eight is restricted, although probably not as much as the previous examples. But the wonderful dynamic nature of the figure eight itself will generate a momentum of its own: if you do the practice two, or more cycles through the figure eight you will find that, each time, your expansion of the more restricted polarity will grow from the momentum of the “turn” through your more developed one. Let us know how you find this process by posting your comments.